Olefin polymerization catalysts are of great use in industry. Hence, there is interest in finding new catalyst systems that increase the commercial usefulness of the catalyst and allow the production of polymers having improved properties.
Catalysts for olefin polymerization are often based on metallocenes as catalyst precursors, which are activated either with an alumoxane or with an activator containing a non-coordinating anion.
Cyclopropyl substituted arenyl complexes are relatively unknown and there are no known early transition metal complexes containing a cyclopropyl substituted arenyl ligand. As a result there are no known early transition metal olefin polymerization catalysts bearing a cyclopropyl substituted arenyl ligand, and in particular, a cyclopropyl substituted indenyl ligand.
Cyclopropyl cyclopentadiene is reported in “Chemistry of Polyhalocyclopentadienes and related compounds: XVII Reaction of Hexachlorocyclopentadiene with unsaturated compounds,” Reimschneider, R. et al, Monatshefte Fuer Chemie (1960).
2-Cyclopropyl indene is disclosed in: 1) “Nickle Catalyzed Carboannulation Reaction of o-Bromobenzyl Zinc Bromide with Unsaturated Compounds,” Deng, Ruixue, et al., Organic Letters (2007) 9(25) pp. 5207-5210; and 2) “Are Perpendicular Alkene Triplets Just 1,2 Biradicals? Studies with the Cyclopropylcarbinyl Clock,” Caldwell, Richard A. et al., Journals of the American Chemical Society (1994) 116(6), pp. 2271-2275.
1- and 3-cyclopropyl indene are disclosed in reference to the photolysis of 2-cyclopropyl indene (and have not been prepared in large scale) in “Upper Excited State Photochemistry: Solution and Gas Phase Photochemistry and Photophysics of 2- and 3-Cyclopropylindene”, Waugh, Tim; Morrison, Harry; Journal of the American Chemical Society (1999), 121(13), pp. 3083-3092.
Cyclopropyl substituted fluorenyls are disclosed in “Transformations of arylcyclopropanes under the action of dinitrogen tetroxide” Mochalov, S. S.; Kuz'min, Ya. I.; Fedotov, A. N.; Trofimova, E. V.; Gazzaeva, R. A.; Shabarov, Y. S.; Zefirov, N. S., Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry (Translation of Zhurnal Organicheskoi Khimii) (1998), 34(9), pp. 1322-1330, MAIK Nauka/Interp erio dic a Publishing.
2-Cyclopropylfluorene is disclosed in the abstract of “Reaction of 2-cyclopropylfluorene with mercury acetate,” Shabarov, Yu. S.; Bandaev, S. G.; Sychkova, L. D., Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta, Seriya 2: Khimiya, (1976), 17(5), pp. 620-1.
Nitration of 2-cyclopropylbiphenyl is disclosed in “Nitration of biphenylcyclopropanes” Mochalov, S. S.; Novokreshchennykh, V. D.; Shabarov, Yu. S., Zhurnal Organicheskoi Khimii (1976), 12(5), pp. 1008-14.
Other references of interest include: 1) “An efficient three-step synthesis of cyclopenta[b]pyrans via 2-donor-substituted Fischer ethenylcarbenechromium complexes,” de Meijere, Armin; Schirmer, Heiko; Stein, Frank; Funke, Frank; Duetsch, Michael; Wu, Yao-Ting; Noltemeyer, Mathias; Belgardt, Thomas; Knieriem, Burkhard, Chemistry—A European Journal (2005), 11(14), pp. 4132-4148; 2) “Novel Pi Systems Possessing Cyclopropenylidene Moiety,” Yoshida, Zenichi, Pure and Applied Chemistry (1982), 54(5), pp. 1059-74; 3) JP 55-010596 B (1980); 4) “An efficient three-step synthesis of cyclopenta[b]pyrans via 2-donor-substituted Fischer ethenylcarbene-chromium complexes,” de Meijere, Armin; Schirmer, Heiko; Stein, Frank; Funke, Frank; Duetsch, Michael; Wu, Yao-Ting; Noltemeyer, Mathias; Belgardt, Thomas; Knieriem, Burkhard, Chemistry—A European Journal (2005), 11(14), pp. 4132-4148; and 5) “Novel Pi Systems Possessing Cyclopropenylidene Moiety,” Yoshida, Zenichi, Pure and Applied Chemistry (1982), 54(5), pp. 1059-74.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,829,495 discloses alkyl substituted metallocenes having a “ . . . C3 or greater hydrocarbyl . . . substitutent bonded to either the LA or LB ring through a primary carbon atom . . . preferably an n-alkyl substituent.” (see column 4, lines 9-12). Further, in the Examples section, (n-propylcyclopentadienyl)(tetramethylcyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride combined with methylalumoxane and Davision™ 948 silica is used for ethylene hexene polymerization; bis(n-propyl cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride combined with methylalumoxane and Davision™ 948 silica is used for ethylene hexene polymerization; and dimethylsilyl(flourenyl)(n-propyl cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride combined with methylalumoxane and Davision silica is used for ethylene hexene polymerization.
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There is still a need in the art for new and improved catalyst systems for the polymerization of olefins, in order to achieve specific polymer properties, such as high melting point, high molecular weights, to increase conversion or comonomer incorporation, or to alter comonomer distribution without deteriorating the resulting polymer's properties.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide novel catalyst compounds, catalysts systems comprising such compounds, and processes for the polymerization of olefins using such compounds and systems.